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Grammarian-bot Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Generally - Position

I was taking a quit and came across this question.

1. Generally I don't read a newspaper.
2. I don't read a newspaper generally.

To me both of them sound good but they said that the first one is correct and the second one is wrong. Please tell me how.

GB
  

Top answer

The word "generally" modifies the whole sentence, so it's better to place it in the beginning. When placed at the end of the sentence, the reader may think that it modifies the verb "read", which is not correct. «I read newspapers carefully» Here "carefully" refers to "read".

— Ant_222

  • The word "generally" modifies the whole sentence, so it's better to place it in the beginning.
  • When placed at the end of the sentence, the reader may think that it modifies the verb "read", which is not correct.
  • «I read newspapers carefully» Here "carefully" refers to "read".
  • «Generally, I don't read newspapers» Here "generally" affects the sentence as a whole.
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12 Answers
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The word "generally" modifies the whole sentence, so it's better to place it in the beginning.

When placed at the end of the sentence, the reader may think that it modifies the verb "read", which is not correct.

«I read newspapers carefully»
Here "carefully" refers to "read".

«Generally, I don't read newspapers»
Here "generally" affects the sentence as a whole.
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Ant_222The word "generally" modifies the whole sentence, so it's better to place it in the beginning. When placed at the end of the sentence, the reader may think that it modifies the verb "read", which is not correct. «I read newspapers carefully» Here "carefully" refers to "read". «Generally, I don't read newspapers» Here "generally" affects the sentence as a
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«Then that means sentence adverbs come only at the beginning of the sentence...»

Generally, yes.

«...and verb phrase adverbs come only at the end of the sentence.»

Not only at the end:
Ex. 1: «I carefully read the newspaper»
EX. 2: «I read the newspaper carefully»

P.S.: I may be wrong, so I'd be glad if others commented on the topic...
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Place generally at any Xn:

X3 I X2 don't X1 read a newspaper X4.

X1 is the most common position; X4, the least common.

CJ

And you were taking a break, by the way, not a quit!
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But where generally would be considered a sentence verb and where it would be considered a verb phrase.

GB
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In this sentence "generally" is always a sentence adverb, I think.

But "accurately" could be related to a single verb.

«I read the newspaper accurately.»
"Accurately" refers to "read" here.

EDIT: «And you were taking a break, by the way, not a quit!»

I'd say he was taking a quiz...
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But where generally would be considered a sentence verb and where it would be considered a verb phrase.

You mean:

But where would generally be considered a sentence adverb, and where would it be considered a verb-phrase adverb.

And you've got the wrong end of the stick.
Adverbs don't change their classification by wh
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Ant_222 «And you were taking a break, by the way, not a quit!» I'd say he was taking a quiz...
Well actually i was taking a quiz. (wrote quit mistakenly ... sorry).

GB
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CalifJim
(Don't be too concerned about complex topics like adverb position right now. Concentrate on mastering the more basic structures first.
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OK. Here's my candid advice. (I hope you are feeling strong today! Emotion: smile)

Proofread carefully, because I think a lot of tim
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